1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the technical field of automatic packaging machines that automatically package a material (contents) in a film bag (packaging material). In particular, the present invention relates to a particulate material supplying apparatus that is capable of supplying a specified amount of a particulate material composed of irregularly shaped particles to an automatic packaging machine.
2. Description of the Related Art
Existing automatic packaging machines automatically package a particulate material (contents) as follows: the material is temporarily stored in a hopper of the automatic packaging machine, the material is weighed and divided into portions having predetermined weights while bags are being formed, the portions of the material are put into the bags through openings in the bags, the openings are sealed (heat sealed), and the bags are separated into individual packages.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 8-226845 describes an existing particulate material supplying apparatus for weighing a particulate material composed of irregularly shaped particles, such as seeds of plants and ingredients of processed foods, and for supplying the particulate material to an automatic packaging machine. The particulate material supplying apparatus has the following structure. A material is discharged from a discharge portion of a hopper; the material is continuously dispensed through a dispensing pipe, which is inclined downward and rotated by rotation means in one direction, into a receiving member; and the material is weighed by a weighing scale. When the weight of the material reaches a predetermined value, opening/closing means opens a cover of the receiving member, and the weighed material is discharged. The Publication states that, with such a structure, the weighed object (material) can be dispensed accurately in predetermined amounts, and therefore it is possible to prevent an increase in cost and man-hours for disposal of erroneously packaged products, which may occur when the material is packaged in excessively large or small amounts.